Intoxication of Wine
by Michelle H. C. Zhu
Summary: Manjyome confesses his love for Asuka under the moonlight. Now what does Asuka think about this?


_I need to talk to you. 9:00, the pier. _

_-- Jun Manjyome _

Asuka was used to discovering love letters in her locker after returning from gym class. She had long lost the sense of surprise in opening a piece of creamy parchment divulging their gigantic crush on her; her eyes rolled to the ceiling whenever a particular letter proclaimed awe in her beauty by using romantic phrases obviously copied out of a Shakespeare play or complicated words Asuka was sure that came directly from the thesaurus.

But she had never received something like this before. His letter—if it could even be called that—was plain and short and lacked the waft of love-struck sappiness that emitted from the others. The words were scribbled on a piece of lined paper that was clearly ripped out of a notebook in haste. There was no elegance to the penmanship and furthermore, it was signed. All her previous love letters were either anonymous or from 'your secret admirer' which served to irk her to the end of her wits. Cowards, they were, unable to confront her directly and hiding behind false countenances and romantic truisms instead.

He was different—this Manjyome. Her female intuition told her so. Manjyome was a boy she only recognized by name and his stature as the youngest of the powerful and affluent trio of three that dominated the political and financial worlds. He was a practical celebrity at the academia; rumors carried through the hallways about him. Girls whispered about his devilishly good looks and the luxurious lifestyle they would one day hope to share as his spouse while guys whispered about his money and dueling skills. He was an elite duelist and one of the best, they said.

At the same time, not all of the mutterings were friendly. Darker rumors revealed that he was a vain, self-important jerk who looked down upon his opponents and those in lower dorms than himself. Asuka hated those types of people who let their fame get to their heads and bloat their egos. This boy seemed to fit perfectly in that category. Yet despite all of this negativity piling up on her, something told her she should accept this invitation. Asuka brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen waywardly across her forehead. She got up and prepared to take a shower and change out of her gym clothes.

* * *

She arrived at the pier at nine o'clock sharp, not preferring to be late or waste any more of her time had he chickened out on the last moment and decided to stand her up. To her relief, Manjyome was standing at the edge of the planks. Asuka couldn't deny the fact he was as handsome as the rumors donned him to be. He had dark spiky hair that draped over narrowed eyes in a causal elegance few boys could achieve naturally. He was dressed in a blue trenchcoat, an Obelisk elite specialty, though the flared collar was too tight for his throat, Asuka noted to herself.

Her first impression of him was a vague one; he gave out all sorts of inklings that dashed her intuition. But it was too early to judge and leap to definite conclusions. Devilishly good-looking boys were a dime in the dozen but Asuka had learned firsthand looks weren't everything. If he was anything like the others, toffee-nosed and conceited, she would instantly regret coming no matter how attractive he was. His head snapped up as her footsteps drew closer.

"Good evening."

To her surprise his voice was polite, albeit hoarse, but had no trace of the superiority or egotism.

"Hello," Asuka replied coolly. "So what is that I came here for."

It wasn't so much as a question than a statement; she had painstakingly bent her morals in order to sneak out at the dead of night to meet some boy she was only familiar through rumors (and not nice ones either) so she deserved a mighty fine answer for all her trouble.

"Look, Tenjoin-kun. I'm sure neither of us wants to be here all night so I'm just going to cut to the chase. You haven't known me for that long…"

"Correction—I don't know you at all," she interrupted curtly. "You've never bothered to speak to me much in the past so forgive me if we're not on first name terms."

Manjyome looked briefly deflated at her icy words; a flame flickered and died but then sprung to life again. What was he doing? He couldn't end it like this. At that point it no longer mattered if she continued to act brusquely because neither of them was going to leave until he got this heavy burden off his chest once and for all.

"Well, anyway…"

He bit his lower lip. The words wouldn't flow smoothly like during those practice runs in front of the mirror. He had always been told he possessed a natural knack of charisma that far outshone either of his two older brothers. So why was he so tongue-tied now?

"What I'm trying to say is that…"

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out."

"Fine. I'm in love with you."

His words were met with a long silence. It was as if time itself spun backwards on the clock and the moment between the two was forever suspended as Asuka attempt to absorb the meaning of his words. So this was just another pathetic attempt at romance, she realized in disappointment. For once Asuka hoped that a boy would pay more attention to her personality than her face and maybe got a chance to know her before blurting out a love declaration but apparently this wasn't the case this time. Manjyome was no different than the other boys. Finally, Asuka found her voice.

"That's cute." They weren't meant to be harsh or cruel but the words escaped her lips before she had a chance to capture them and turn them into something kinder. Seeing that the damage was already done, she plowed on shamelessly, "So you suddenly decide out of the blue you love me. What do you plan on doing now? What's a stuck-up rich boy like you want with a nobody like me?"

Her flippant reply served to spark anger hidden within him. Jagged emotion flashed through the cracks of onyx eyes because she couldn't believe him; she couldn't take his love seriously. But that anger appeared and disappeared in an instant and after that instant was over, Manjyome had nothing else to feed off. He turned away.

Asuka blinked. Then she looked away as well so now that neither of the two had their eyes locked on the other. What an incongruous tangle of emotions they had gotten themselves into. Wasn't a night of romance supposed to be spent staring at the other person rather than averting their gaze?

"You're not a nobody," Manjyome finally mumbled.

To mirror the ironic situation, her tone also grew mordant.

"That's true. In my eyes, I'm not a nobody—I'm Asuka just like you said. But what about you? What do you see me as or are your words really just some manipulative ploy for something else?"

Manjyome wanted to roll his eyes at her suspicious remark but realized that would just neuter the mood of the situation. Instead, he strived to keep his patience which was quickly beginning to fray; forget that, it was already in shreds.

"I'm sorry…I don't remember reading it in my handbook 'How to seduce an ice queen for dummies' that manipulative ploys were mandatory to win the girl over." His eyes spat betrayal and some other unnamed emotion. "Is my heart not good enough for you? Do you want something else?"

In spite of her self, Asuka could find no pity.

"Perhaps I do want something else. For example, I want the truth." She took a step closer, pressing an outstretched hand to her chest to emphasis her frustration. "I have a hard time accepting this. You just…_love_ me? Just like that? No other greedy motivation to copy my homework or get at my money—"

"—dammit, listen to yourself, lady!" Manjyome exploded, his repressed aggravation bursting to the surface. "Why would I, the richest boy in the whole academia want your filthy spare change? I could buy this wretched school with a snap of the fingers and have it demolished overnight and none of you could do a single thing to stop me!" He calmed down and gave her a critical look. "Is it this truly that hard to believe…"

"…that you love me?" The word hung ominously in the air. She shook her head. "Yes. Maybe it is. I'll also presume you're not going to take back your words on any account even if I gave you the chance to pretend this situation never occurred and walk away with your dignity spared."

One defiant look from his eyes was all Asuka needed.

"I see." She paused and licked her lips. "Well I hope you realize that you've just crossed the line between sensible and unreasonable…"

"Well, of course I'm being unreasonable!" he snapped. Manjyome placed a hand on his hip and tapped his chin, staring sardonically at the stars that lit the black night. "I've just told the girl of my dreams I'm crazy headfirst in love with her and all she can do is prod me over and over again on the sheer impossibility of my emotions because apparently Manjyome Jun is not allowed to feel love! Like **that** isn't enough to make one boy skyrocket into levels considered unreasonable!"

Silence. Then, Asuka broke it with a soft, "Manjyome."

There was no –san or –kun suffix or anything polite or formal of the way she addressed him. It was direct and straight to the point…after all a one night meeting with a boy encased in a cloud of nasty rumors that he was a snobby rich kid with a corrupt family of businessmen didn't earn her respect, right?

Manjyome gave her a weary look. His hand dropped from his hip.

"Yeah, I'm glad you've established my name. It's nice to know you've been listening to the roll call every morning." He heaved a sigh, the fatigue bearing noticeably in his voice. "If you left on this sour note, at least I can crawl to my bed thinking I accomplished something worthwhile this night."

Finding no other action proper for the situation, Asuka merely shook her head again.

"I'm sorry I'm acting pushy, but I don't believe you. I didn't believe anything you've said since I've came here and I'm not going to believe that this morning you just decided without any warning that you love me. You're not that type of person," She overlooked those dejected eyes of liquid onyx and continued, her voice growing stronger by the second. "This is just some warped game you fabricated out of boredom, isn't? I'm just one of the few girls that never fawned over you or your money. I'm just a challenge, a puzzle you want to figure out because you can't have me, right?"

Manjyome regarded her with a disbelieving gaze. A painful look flitted across his features, cast in shades of annoyance and exasperation.

"Why do you have to be so complicated, Tenjoin-kun?" His voice was defeated and dripped of countless nights of insomnia. "Why can't you be like the others who actually believe the words that come from my mouth?"

Her barriers instantly shot up. How dare he play her like this and then openly admit it! Defiance laced her voice, streaked with unmistakable anger.

"So I **am** right! And to think, all those romantic words you just said were nothing but lies intended to seduce my heart. Well, let me tell you something, Mr. High and Mighty," Her index finger dug into his chest. "I'm not just some trophy girlfriend to show off, especially not for somebody like _you_."

With that, Asuka stalked off in the other direction, having no intention to look back even if he asked her to wait and listen to him; she didn't want to listen to his excuses or fake apologies anyway.

"No. You're still wrong on all accounts." Intangible words of exasperation came out of his mouth when she didn't respond. "But if you want to continue with that frame of mind go right ahead and run away, queen charypants. We'll play this 'warped game' another time!" Manjyome stayed silent for a moment, before the tensioned aura of the entire night transformed right underneath him. "But before you leave…"

Asuka spun around, ready to snarl in the cruelest preference of words her befuddled mind could conjure up that he was a manipulative bastard that didn't deserve her or any other girl's time and effort…only to be startled when Manjyome breezed over to her and did something that would change her look on him forever.

He planted his lips onto hers in a light, sealed kiss.

"I love you. Don't forget that."

Their eyes locked. His gaze was passionate, suffused with a mixture of fervor and boldness but not arrogance, just a sense that he had nothing to hold back. His eyes lacked discreteness and dark hidden secrets; they were exposed down to the bare core, speaking in gentle yet firm words that this was how he truly felt. Staring into those eyes gave Asuka a magical feeling as if a sizzle of electricity had just run through her beating heart or being intoxicated with wine—though she wasn't so sure about the later of the two, having no previous experience with drinking.

For a split moment, she believed he was telling the truth.

Then the connection was broken and Manjyome cast his eyes ahead, cold and bitterly lined with a condescending edge once again. He strode away from her, proud and haughty, leaving Asuka to ponder all that had just happened under the moonlit night. Eventually his footsteps grew softer and softer in volume until they disappeared in all yet Asuka remained standing in that same spot long after his departure. After an hour of merely standing there and letting the evening breeze caress her locks of hair while musing in turmoil of the events, she finally touched her lips. Even after all this time his scent lingered on her lips, bold and musky with a light dash of cinnamon. Manjyome smelled like cinnamon.

It was then, Asuka decided that he deserved the title of '-kun'.


End file.
